Grain sprouter



Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED WILLIAM, H1 HACKMAN, DE. CHAPMAN', KANSAS.

GRAIN sPaoU'rEa.

Application filed March 31, 1924. SeriallN'o: 703,278;

To all whom, t may concern:

Bef it known that I, WILLIAM I-I; HACK- MAN, a citizen of: the United States, residing at Chapman, in the county ot' Dickinson and Stateof. Kansas, have' invented certain new anduse'ful Improvements inGrrain Sprouters, of which the tollowingis af complete specification.

My invention relates to improvements in grain sprouters andi particularly to that type,.in whichv the grainis subjected to a current of warm, moist air.

The object of my invention is to provide a grain sprouter, in which a. current of warm, moist air is continually passing over the grain; another object is to provide a grain sprouter, by means of which grain maybe quickiysprouted, without the necessity` ofV stirring the grain or opening the sprouter door to allowl proper ventilation to prevent souring or. moulding'o` the grain.

A still further obj ect ofmy invention is to so` spacerthe grain trays in the sprouter, as to admit suiificient` light; to all parts of the sprouter to produce the proper greening of the sprouts.

lVith the foregoing general objects in view, the invention will now be described by'reterence to the accompanying drawings illustratingfone. form ot' construction which I' have devised* fon embodyingv the invention, after which theivarious-novel featurestherein; will-be particularly set-forth and.` claimed.

In the drawings:

Figurel is aperspective view o my grain sprouter with the closure opened.

Fig. 2, is a vertical section of the same taken along line II`II off Fig.. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig: 3y is avertical section taken4 on line III-III of Fig. 1 with the closure closed.

Fig. 4: is a horizontal section taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, similar to Fig. 3, showing the supporting brackets for the grain trays, in position; and,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the grain tray suporting bracket, detached from the cabinet.

Similar reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, in which 1 designates a cabinet made of any suitable material and lined with roofing or any material that is impervious to moisture. In the illustration, this cabinet 1 has been shown as a unit but may be' madein the well known sectional form it' desired.

Cabinet l is divided into an upper and lower compartment Q/and 3 respectively by means of a water pant which is supported ona bracket 4A;

rPhe rear side of the cabinetI is provided with an opening 5lhaving a closure 6, the bottomledge of whichis spaced apart from the bottomedgeofthe cabinet 1, thus tormingan inlet 7, by meansof which air is fun` nishedltothe heater 8.

For purposes of illustration, the heater 8 is shown tobe an ordinary heating lamp, but any other suitable heating means may be used.

Side walls 1A and 1B of the cabinet- 1 are provided with a plurality oi' air openings 9 which communicate with compartment 3 and serve as vents for the fumes from heater: 8;

The front wall of the cabinet is provided with. transparent or translucent panels 10, through which light passes to allr partsof the Lipper compartment 2; Cabinet 1 is further providedy at its top with an ail outlet 12, while air inlets 11 are cut through its side wallllA in such a-way-` as to communicate with compartment 2 at a point adjacent the water pan 4.

Interposedl between air inlets 11 and air outlet 12, of. compartment 2, are'aA plurality of grain trays 13 having perforated bottoms 14, through which the excess moisture may be discharged. Grain trays 13 are supported'` in a. horizontal position within the cabinet by means of iixedf brackets 15, and extend alternately from opposite walls of cabinet 1` to within a distance of the other wall thereof, to form ay zigzag passage be* tween said air inlets 11 and air outlet 12. yIlhe lowest grain tray lextends from wall 1A` and just above the airv inlets 11 to within a distance of the opposite wall 1B, thus making it necessary for the air which enters inlets 11 to pass over the surface of the water in pan t.

The bracket 15 which is best illustrated in Fig. 6, is so constructed as to admit of an easy insertion of the grain trays.

Operation.

In the operation of my improved grain sprouter, the grain is placed in grain trays 13, in thin layers, the trays 13 are then inserted through opening 5 into compartment lll Il (l 2 where they are supported on brackets l5. Tater is placed in water pan 4 and the heater 8 lighted, after which closure 6 is closed.

Through the influence of the heater S, the water in pan 4 becomes heated, in turn heats and moistens the adjacent air which starts a circulation oi the same around the end o'l` the lowest grain tray 13, thence across its upper surface, around the opposite end otthe next grain tray above, and so on to the air outlet l2 at the top of cabinet l. This upward current of air causes a flow of air to pass in through the air inlets ll which must pass over the surface of the heated water in water pan 4f and become saturated. The grain being subjected to this warm moist air, sprouts rapidly. All excess moisture that may collect in the grain tra-ys, drains through the perforated bottoms 14k of trays 13 and then back into the water pan ll.

The zigzag passage for the air, which is best illustrated by arrows in Fig. 0, causes the warm. moist air to pass over all the grain, thus preventing any dead air spaces where the grain might sour or mould.

The grain trays 13 are so spaced apart, to permit the light, which enters through transparent panels l0, to sulticiently illuminate all parts of the compartment 2 and cause a proper greening of all the sprouts.

It will thus be seen that I have devised a comparatively simple, compact and etlicient arrangement and construction 'for iullilling the desired object of the invention, and while I have illustrated what now seems to constitute the preferred form olI construction, I desire to reserve the right to malte such changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

lVhat I claim is:

l. In a grain sprouter, in combination, a cabinet having an air inlet and an air outlet, a plurality of grain trays interposed between said air inlet and air outlet and eX- tending alternately from opposite walls of the cabinet to form a continuous air passage, of substantially uniform cross-section, from said air outlet, a water pan located beneath said air inlet, heating means for said water pan and a transparent panel in said cabinet wall.

2. A grain sprouter provided with a cabinet, having an air inlet, an air outlet, a plurality of grain trays interposed between between said air inlet and said air outlet and extending alternately trom opposilr` sides ot said cabinet. to within a distance from the other wall thereof, to 'form a zigzag passage from said air inlet to said air outlet, a water pan below said air inlet and means for heating said water pan.

3. A grain sprouter provided with a cabinet, having an air inlet, an air outlet., a plurality of perforated grain trays interposed between said air inlet and said air outlet, arranged one above the other and extending alternately from opposite sides of the cabinetto form a zigzag passage from said air inlet to said air outlet, a water pan located beneath said air inlet, heating means for said water pan and a transparent section in said cabinet wall.

A grain sprouter provided with a cabinet, having an air inlet, an air outlet, a plurality ot grain trays interposed between said air inlet and said air outlet and extending alternately from opposite sides ot' the cabinet to form a zigzag passage from said air inlet to said air outlet over the surface ot each of said grain trays, a water pan supported beneath said air inlet, a heater 'for said water pan, and a transparent panel in said cabinet wall.

5. A grain sprouter provided with a cabinet, having a lower and an upper compartment, the said lower compartment being provided with heating means, said upper compartment having a water container at its lower portion, an air inlet in its side wall adjacent said water container, an air outlet at its top, a plurality ot grain trays interposed between said air inlet and said air outlet and extending alternately from opposite sides of said cabinet to i'orm a zigzag passage from said air inlet to said air outlet and a transparent panel in its 'front wall.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atlix my signature. l

IVILLIAM H. HACKMAN. 

